89 on hunger strike at Guantánamo

More Guantánamo Bay detainees have joined a hunger strike, raising the total to 89, and six of them were being force-fed, the U.S. military said Thursday.

The strike — which last weekend jumped from three participants to 75 — is now the biggest of the year at the U.S. prison on Cuba, where about 460 men are being held on suspicion of links to al-Qaida or the Taliban.

The U.S. military said the detainees were trying to pressure the United States to release them, but a human-rights attorney described the strike as a desperate appeal for justice.

Six hunger strikers were being force-fed, said Navy Cmdr. Robert Durand — two more than last weekend.

"All are being closely monitored by the ... medical staff and being counseled on the health effects of long-term hunger striking," Durand said in a statement from Guantánamo Bay.

OPEC countries leave quotas as is

OPEC countries, caught between soaring oil prices and rising crude inventories, took a pragmatic wait-and-see approach and left production quotas unchanged.

But members of the 11-country oil cartel also left their one-day meeting Thursday suggesting they might have to consider trimming output before long — an idea advanced most strongly by Venezuela.

OPEC President Edmund Daukoru of Nigeria said oil-producing nations are concerned about market volatility and will be closely watching to see if a shift is necessary.

"Stocks are building and we don't want a catastrophic situation by neglecting the buildup of stocks," Daukoru said. "We still worry about drastic upswings, just as much as we worry about downswings" in price.

Warning that the battle against AIDS was at risk, the United Nations asked delegations at a major conference Thursday to stop opposing the mention of condoms, safe drug use and funding goals in a document that will help guide efforts to fight the virus over the next 10 years.

Yet governments still disagreed strongly on some of those issues and others including drug patents, empowering girls and exact financial targets. That led some activists to express fears that the High-Level Meeting on AIDS, which ends today, could actually hinder the struggle against the virus 25 years after it was discovered.

Some nongovernmental organizations accused negotiators of trying to water down promises made before on AIDS prevention, treatment and funding, including in a General Assembly meeting in 2001.

Survivors still waiting for food

Survivors just a few miles from aid centers said Thursday they're still waiting for food, five days after an earthquake shattered their homes.

An international aid effort sped up in recent days, and the region's biggest city, Yogyakarta, became the main aid dispersal point after its airport and main roads were repaired. But international relief teams have yet to reach some areas, and aid delivery is sporadic in others, villagers and officials said. The death toll from Saturday's quake rose to more than 6,200, based on reports from outlying areas.

Compiled from The Associated Press